Network of Middlemen in Marib Smuggling Oil, Gas to Somalia

According to informed local sources who spoke to Yemen Online, an organized network has been systematically smuggling crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced at the Safer facilities in Yemen's Marib Governorate to Somalia through a network of local brokers and traders.

The sources alleged that one of the key intermediaries is a trader known as Doman, based in Harib District, Marib.

They further claimed that the operation is coordinated with Mohsen Hamad bin Waheit, Executive Director of the Marib Gas Company, who allegedly receives a share of the proceeds in exchange for facilitating the movement of the shipments.

According to the same sources, the smuggled fuel is transported by tanker trucks from the Safer facilities in Marib to Al-Shihr Port in Hadhramout Governorate before being shipped by sea to Somalia.

The sources further alleged that some of these shipments ultimately reach areas where armed groups operate, including Al-Shabaab, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, and several other countries and international organizations.

The sources also claimed that Safer Company regularly allocates approximately one million liters of gasoline and diesel under military supply provisions for forces stationed in Marib. However, they alleged that part of these fuel allocations is diverted to military formations affiliated with the Islah Party.

The Islah Party is one of Yemen's most prominent political parties. It is described by a number of researchers and political analysts as the political and ideological extension of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen.

Marib Governorate is currently under the control of forces affiliated with Yemen's internationally recognized government, within which the Islah Party is widely regarded as holding significant political and military influence.

Since the early 2000s, the governorate has also been the scene of numerous U.S. drone strikes targeting members and leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as part of Washington's counterterrorism operations.